News In Brief

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 10000 for the first time. At 9:50 a.m. EST yesterday, the Dow stood at 10001.12 - up 41.35 points, after an unprecedented 4-1/2-year show of force in which the blue-chip index nearly tripled in value.

Construction of new single-family homes in the US rose to the highest level in more than two decades last month while output at factories showed unexpected strength. The Federal Reserve reported output at factories, mines, and utilities rose 0.2 percent. The Commerce Department said construction of single-family homes was up 1.1 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.41 million units, the highest level since December 1978. A falloff in apartment-building caused the overall rate of starts to ease a slight 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.80 million.

Boeing Co. said it will cut 6,700 more jobs than expected due to reduced overtime and other manufacturing efficiencies in its commercial-airplane division. The additional cuts mean total job reductions by the end of the year will be at the high end of a range of 28,000 to 38,000 that the company announced earlier.